Capturing Perfect Moments

Some potential wedding clients ask me about the cameras and lenses I use (it's often a boy thing); some ask me how many photos I will take. I usually can't answer either question very accurately - because my equipment is just a means to an end and I take as many images as I see for as long as I am shooting. For some clients these seem to be very important questions, but I can't answer them very well because that's not what I'm selling.

I'm selling a split second, a moment, caught in time forever. A discreet glance that is the look of love. The image that sticks in the mind after you've seen it. This is priceless. It's not just a record of the day, it's the emotion, living in the images long after the champagne has been drunk and the guests have departed. You cannot add it back in afterwards. It isn't a Photoshop 'plug in'.

The most important thing I do is to capture the emotion in the special moments of the lives of the people that populate my work and make them live forever. It's a privilege. As the year draws to a close, I'd like to thank all my clients, both past, present and future for entrusting me with the task of capturing their perfect moments for eternity.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Trash the Dress on TV!

I've just completed a fantastic Trash the Dress shoot with a client which was filmed for TV.

Shooting took place in Norfolk on a private estate using a wide variety of locations. These ranged from beautiful gates, to an ancient tractor, a water sprinkler in a potato field! Finally we went to the beach where my client Susie was game enough to go into the sea! The weather had become somewhat windy and stormy by this time but we got some amazing shots. To view the video, please click on the link below. Please note that although I have usage rights, copyright is with Reuters, thank you.

Advice on Choosing Your Wedding Photographer. Recent Publicity - Wedding Venues & Services

Featuring one of my favourite informal photos from Elissa and Michael's wedding, I contributed to a piece in this summer's Wedding Venues & Services magazine: Ask the Expert

What interested me most on reading it was that all five of us featured - some of the top names in the wedding photography world - gave essentially the same advice to prospective clients seeking to choose a wedding photographer:

See at least two complete recent weddings; you get what you pay for in photography - the better the photographer the more they charge;

see client testimonials as well as wedding photography; check experience, & whether the photographer is full or part time;

check they have client liability insurance (an absolute must have);

choose someone you get on well with;

look for passion and emotion in the images;

choose a reportage photographer with great care, not all 'reportage' images are flattering - make sure they can also take the other type of shots that matter e.g. groups, lovely portraits of the couple.

In terms of trends, each of us picked our own trend, but I agree with all of them:

1. Image manipulation - there is currently a fashion for heavily manipulated, fashion style images.

Whilst I think this can work well for a portrait shoot, for a wedding I offer this style to clients on one or two photos only from the hundreds taken. I prefer wedding photography to be 'real' rather than fake, to tell the story of the day. When I do show such an image I usually recommend that it is a stand alone image, rather than one put in the album.

2. The best of both worlds - Not just reportage or portraiture.

More Brides are realising that posed photographs don't have to be stiff and formal and that reportage shots aren't necessarily relaxed! The best photographers are combining both, I certainly do.

3. Trash the Dress - the big trend coming in from the USA.

This is becoming more and more popular both with my existing clients and with Brides who have used other photographers for their wedding.

4. The importance of the classic wedding album

Digital only packages are popular, but invariably clients realise that a wedding album is more than a collection of photos - it's an heirloom, and a repository of their memories of an extra-special day.

Bumps and Babies

There's something quite miraculous about Bumps turning into Babies!

Congratulations to Jane and Phil on the arrival of their beautiful daughter Erin.

Jane is responsible for my fab logo and a very talented designer who is now enjoying juggling - time that is, not babies!

If you're looking for a graphic designer check out Jane's web site at www.danglydog.com

Funky fun!

One of the great things about a Love Your Dress shoot is that you can have a lot of fun trying out different 'looks' so that you have a wide choice of photos from the classically beautiful to the funky and fun.

I adore photographing weddings, but on a portrait shoot I also get the one thing I don't get at a wedding: plenty of time! On the wedding day itself, the most important thing is to capture the real day, and to spend time with the Bride & Groom judiciously so that they get stunning photos but don't feel that their day was turned into a full scale photo-shoot. Unless we can build in a lot of time prior to the ceremony, the portraiture time afterwards is usually about the couple, not the dress, so a Love Your Dress (or if you feel like living dangerously a Trash Your Dress) shoot is the perfect opportunity for us both to relax and have fun, without any pressure.

Recently, Emma and I had a fabulous afternoon doing just that at a variety of locations. We did some classic shots as a bit of a 'warm up' and then moved on to more adventurous pictures. Emma's stunning Vera Wang dress had the chance for another outing before being finally packed away.

She's still choosing her favourite photos which we intend to put at the end of an album with the photos from her wedding in Australia.

Sumptuous in Chocolate Leather

I'm just sending off a really lovely Chocolate Leather bound album to two super people, Sarah & David.

This is a classic album with a subtle twist, where the bespoke flexibility of the Queensberry product has enabled me to design the album to reflect the colours of the wedding and the intimacy of the day.

Their autumn wedding had a lovely bronze and orange theme, so the rich chocolate leather is perfect, and a softer option to black. The cover features a small image of the couple, and the colour theme is carried through with ivory mats and the photographs mounted onto chocolate pages.

On this first right hand page, instead of a traditional 'title' I mounted Sarah & David's wedding invitation into the square space - so just a thin cholcolate border shows - and then placed three small square images taken from different sections of Sarah's bouquet, as accents underneath.

The wedding at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park, London, was an intimate affair for close family and friends. The album relects this, in particular on the pages featuring the speeches where, using the option to include a 'flip' page, we can see both the Bride's speech and the whole speech sequence all at once. Capturing the reaction of guests during this time is one of my favourite parts of any wedding.

Getting your wedding featured in a Bridal title

Many Brides like the idea of their wedding appearing in one of the wedding magazines. It's just as well that magazines have no shortage of Bride's volunteering their photos - Real Life weddings are one of the most popular sections in any wedding magazine.

I've had quite a few clients featured over the years, the latest in the most recent issue of You & Your Wedding. Whilst there's no guarantee of your wedding being featured, here are a few pointers which might help you decide whether yours is likely to be in the running:

1. An unusual or particularly stylish wedding venue. There's a trend for weddings to take place overseas at the moment, and somewhere particularly beautiful has a head start.

2. A strong theme - colour or style - that flows through the wedding.

3. A good story - for example, how you met or the choice of dress.

4. Interesting and unconventional details - flowers, mode of transport, ice vodka luge, favours, cake - that can feature in the article.

5. Designer names - a dress by a top designer, flowers by a leading florist all add cachet to the feature.

6. Fabulous photos! - the details and some of the action. You may have some lovely portraits but these are almost never featured. The magazine editor is looking for pictures that tell the story of the day to accompany the words, so you'll need to supply a complete range.

However, don't be too disappointed if your special day doesn't make it into print. Editors are looking for inspiration for their readers, and they also need a variety of weddings in each issue. If yours is the third 1940's themed wedding they see that month then, however beautiful, it probably won't make it.

Recent publicity - You & Your Wedding

Lindsey and Adam were married in a stunning chateau in France, and although overseas weddings are on the increase the bespoke ones exporting a UK-based photographer (and in this case disco too!) are still quite rare. Not surprisingly, such an unusual day became a feature wedding in one of the UK's top Bridal magazines.

Lindsey and Adam were fantastic clients to work with - very organised with their preparations (essential if you're going to travel abroad to get married) and very calm throughout the action-packed weekend. Even the unexpected rain, which meant that the ceremony had to be moved inside at short notice left them unfazed.

The lovely thing about overseas weddings from a photographic perspective is the opportunity to take photos in completely different light to the type we usually get in the UK. A real treat!

The basic ingredients of the celebration are also a bit out of the ordinary - from the way the table is laid, the flowers arranged, or the cake is presented.

See more photos of the day in the wedding portfolio section of my site:

http://www.katehampton.com/wedding_portfolio.html

Choosing your wedding photographer

Congratulations, you're engaged! Most couples know what they're looking for when considering venues, the food and even any entertainment, but the choice of photographer can seem daunting as it's unfamiliar territory for most people. Photographers don't follow any set patterns when setting fees or 'packages' so couples often find it difficult to make direct comparisons. Here are a few pointers:

The first thing to do is to agree what you are both looking for at the end of the process. If one of you is expecting complete coverage of the day with all the details recorded but the other is just expecting a few group shots, then you need to do some talking before you start looking! Some couples want a professional, reliable record of the day but they do not want to spend too much time being photographed. For others, the photography is crucially important and an integral part of the day. Are you expecting a stunning set of portraits of the two of you (you'll need to allocate time out of your day for this), or is that less important than one or two nice shots as long as the emotions of the day are captured? Or, do you want both?

Once you are agreed on this, viewing photographers’ on line portfolios for quality and style is the next stage. However, galleries represent the photographer’s best work, so it is important to see whole weddings to see how their style is transferred across the different requirements of the day. Do this when you meet or ask to be sent a Portfolio CD if whole weddings aren't available to view on line. Wedding couples and guests are not on a photo shoot, but there to celebrate the day and party, so if you're looking for a photo journalistic style of coverage then you should check out the photographers' ability to capture those fleeting moments and your guests enjoying themselves.

Got your short list? Talk to them on the phone and meet if possible. You will be spending a lot of time with your photographer on your wedding day and so you should ensure you like them. Are they professional in their approach to you? Do you feel they will put you first or are you just another gig?

Finally you will need to think about your album, and of course your budget. The price of wedding photography often surprises prospective wedding clients, but wedding photography is a skill and the best can command high prices. Ultimately you and your fiance have to decide on the importance of high quality wedding photography to you, and consider whether it is a price worth paying.

The Queensberry Album

Why an album? Why Queensberry?

Having just come off the phone to a prospective client who was dubious about why they might want to pay for an album I thought it might be worth posting a few thoughts on the subject.

In this digital age almost anyone feels they can take photos - which is wonderful, as photos are perfect ways of reminding us of past events, emotions and friends. So it is with a wedding. However, these days photos often stay on the computer - hundreds and hundreds of them. But an album, especially a beautifully constructed wedding album will outlast the computers, to be passed on through the generations. It has a wonderful physical presence: just by turning the pages you can re-live the day quietly on your own, or share it with others.

I have included Queensberry Albums with my wedding packages almost from the beginning. There are many album suppliers on the market, and Queensberry certainly aren't the cheapest, but they produce bespoke albums of the highest quality. I can design a client's album around the pictures they choose - no preordained sizes for the photos, and each design is unique. The albums are classic without being traditional and most importantly for an heirloom that must last, durable and timeless. Their pricing also makes them pretty exclusive, but they really are worth the extra.

I'm in the middle of finalising this album for a lovely client who's wedding day I was privileged to record last year - mostly in the pouring rain! I'm at the ordering stage, having just been given design approval. It will be 15" square, with a Navy leather cover. The wedding invitation will be mounted into the album on the first page and the photos will be cut and hand-assembled in the album onto mist (cream) pages surrounded by an ivory mat. Stunning! A gorgeous permanent record of a beautiful day.

Love your dress - it's not too late!

Celebrate the beauty of your wedding dress.

At a recent wedding, one of the guests came up to me in tears. She was very complimentary about my unobtrusive style - her tears were for the photos of her own wedding several years previously. She hadn't taken as much care as she should have done in selecting her photographer, and the bolshy male she employed left such a negative impression that she couldn't even bring herself to look at the proofs, let alone order any prints. All they reminded her was of him. It's always distressing for me to hear such stories - unfortunately all too common. However, I do have a solution. The Trash Your Dress trend is sweeping in from the States. Not as drastic as it sounds, it is an opportunity to have the fashion style photos of you in your dress that you didn't manage to get on the day. My style is more of a 'Love your Dress' experience. It's never too late. This time, just enjoy wearing your dress - either with, or without your husband.